This book is quite simply the best assessment of the changing contemporary relationship between China and the two Koreas. Scott Snyder, a longtime observer of China's relationship with Korea, has produced a work of deep analytic insight and detailed empirical observations. Refusing to make any facile conclusions, he explores the nature of economic, political, and cultural relations between China and both South Korea and North Korea. After reading this book, one comes away with a renewed appreciation for the complexities of international relations in Northeast Asia.

The impact of China's economic emergence over the past three decades has generated intense interest and speculation about whether that country's emergence will change regional or even global international relations. Yet, few books have focused on China's relationship with the Korean peninsula, which is one of the regions where China's impact will be most directly and immediately felt. Indeed, changes in the Korea-China relationship, which few outside the region understand, are likely to have a worldwide impact. How China and its relations with the Korean peninsula develop will affect the U.S. role in East Asia, the potential for regional economic growth or continued economic integration in East Asia, and the intractable North Korean nuclear issue.

China's Rise and the Two Koreas is animated by an enduring question in the study of international relations: Does economic interdependence automatically lead to political influence and adjustment? With his case study of Korea-China relations, Snyder shows that it is a mistake to posit a mechanistic link between economic relations and political orientation; instead, economic exchange creates the potential for political adjustment and evolution. How those play out is a result of a mix of domestic politics, national interests, and the substantive interactions that take place between countries.

With regards to the Korean peninsula, Snyder argues that China's attempts to leverage its economic importance for political gain have been less than successful, and changes in diplomatic or political relations have been modest at best. While South Korea has clearly reoriened its diplomatic focus to include China as an important partner, it continues to privilege its diplomatic and military relationship with the United States. As for North Korea, its economic dependence on China has been accompanied by political alienation from China. Yet, Snyder cautions that U.S. scholars and policymakers also need to realize that China's influence on the Korean peninsula has clearly increased, and that future competition by the United States and China over the peninsula should not be ruled out. He ultimately concludes that “China-centered economic interdependence is unlikely to provide the political rationale for a marginalized U.S. role; rather, it may motivate U.S. allies to more deeply and broadly enmesh the United States in Northeast Asian affairs” (p. 214). This book is an important reminder that many of the extreme predictions about China's rise—either outright balancing behavior on the part of other East Asian states, or slavish bandwagoning toward China—are unlikely to be actualized in the near future.

Nine chapters explore in detail the various aspects of the Korea-China relationship. After a brief introduction, five chapters explore the bilateral relations between China and South Korea and North Korea, respectively, while the final three chapters explore various regional issues, such as the China-U.S.-ROK (Republic of Korea) security triangle, or Sino-Japanese rivalry and the Korean peninsula.

Chapter 2 provides the historical context for China's relations with Korea, exploring how China came to abandon its sole focus on North Korea in the early 1990s to follow a “two-Koreas policy,” whereby it pursued normalization of diplomatic relations with South Korea while simultaneously adjusting and recalibrating its relationship with North Korea. Most fascinating about this period is that China managed to have a two-Koreas policy at all: After all, embracing the South while still maintaining somewhat stable relations with the North required delicate and careful diplomacy not often associated with the Chinese Communist Party. That China managed to do so reveals much about China's incipient diplomatic approach to the region, especially when compared to the difficulties that Russia faced in normalizing relations with the South. The Chinese managed to maintain relations with both countries, while Russian–North Korean ties plunged.

The following two chapters explore China–South Korea relations, examining both the rapid expansion of economic ties and also the emerging political difficulties. While South Koreans have been especially eager to open economic relations in China, subsequent political squabbling over the ancient kingdom of Koguryo, and other concerns about Chinese political influence, led to a more realistic view of China-Korea relations by the mid-2000s.

Chapters 5 and 6 explore the Sino–North Korean relationship, also pointing out the changing nature of economic and political relations. As is clear from negotiations over North Korea's nuclear issue, the Chinese remain North Korea's closest ally, even while they attempt to gently nudge the North into greater economic reforms. Unwilling to place extensive pressure on the North, the Chinese have attempted to “manage” the North Korean problem through the institution of the “Six Party Talks” (involving North and South Korea, China, the United States, Japan, and Russia), with limited success. Indeed, Snyder points out clearly how Chinese economic leverage over North Korea is actually a limiting factor: Because Chinese economic support is so central to the survival of the North Korean regime, China must be especially careful about utilizing that leverage for fear of overreacting and causing more problems than they solve. The conundrum of North Korea, of course, is that even China has limited influence over the regime in Pyongyang.

The book's final three chapters explore larger regional issues: the U.S.-ROK-PRC (People's Republic of China) strategic triangle, Sino-Japanese rivalry and the Korean peninsula, and how deepening PRC-ROK economic relations may affect Northeast Asian security. In each of these chapters, Snyder is a sober, insightful observer, using his deep knowledge of the region to point out that the rivalry is nascent, and that the region itself is in deep flux. Some readers might be dissatisfied by the book's lack of a simple thesis or policy argument. But I would contend that this is actually one of the book's strengths. For the very fluctuating nature of relations in the region argues against prematurely drawing any firm conclusions. While our worst fears have not been realized in the region, neither have our most optimistic hopes. Snyder avoids simplistic arguments, preferring to clearly articulate the subtleties and nuances in the complex web of political and economic relationships among states in the region. His book is a well-written and fascinating study, and should be required reading for anyone interested in China's relations with East Asia in general and with Korea in particular.